Just to expand on this, it wasn't just people remained anonymous because they wanted to be mysterious or whatever. When I first got online at about age 13 in the late 90s, my parents warned me, NEVER say my real name, even just first name, online, NEVER say my age online, NEVER give any information on where I live online, not even the state, NEVER give my phone number online, NEVER post a picture of myself online (before the term 'selfie' existed), and NEVER give out any of the above information on any family member or friend either. This was to protect us from Internet predators. Social media like Myspace and Facebook (I was exposed to Mysapce well before I was exposed to Facebook) forever turned this common wisdom on its head.

To echo what DoomMetalAlchemist said above me, I was in 9th grade in 1998, and that was the year we got dial-up internet in my home. Before that, my brother and I used to have to go to an "Internet Cafe" (called the Log-In Cafe) in my hometown to use the internet. At that time, chatrooms and search engines were all the rage. My brother used sites like yahoo and altavista to find out WWF wrestlers real names (lol) and I used it to look up photos of Metallica and Ozzy Osbourne to print to hang in my locker at school. I remember my mom dropping us off at that place, and the conversation all the way there was always those warnings.

I'm considering submitting a request to have my username changed. It's literally just my name, which is kinda boring, and multiple people have tracked me down outside of the Archives to thank me for or complain about my reviews or edits I've made, etc. The only problem is every time I try to brainstorm a new name, I hit a dead end. Suggestions are welcome

BlezraEumenfeld, obviously

And yeah fair point guys on the 'NEVER GIVE OUT YOUR DETAILS' - we had the same warnings, it's very odd to me that it's the other way around now, and any kind of privacy desire is seen as suspicious.

BetterThanEzra.

If you're wondering why I picked that, Better Than Ezra is a rock band that had a video in rotation on MTV in the 90s.

This isn't a terrible idea, I do hear that joke constantly. It's usually either "nobody's better than Ezra" or "everybody's better than Ezra," depending who's telling it. I also have a coworker who will come up behind me unexpectedly to sing the song "Good."

Back to the conversation about the merits of facebook, it definitely serves a purpose... Got a sponsored ad about a guitar MiDI controller called the Jamstik. Reading about it my prayers may have been answered. My Roland pickups aren't cutting it.

I just noticed that Limp Bizkit have been booked to play Wacken. ????

Spot on! Although I think that nowadays there is some power to change certain situations through the Internet - the best example coming from the vlogger/youtuber who visited Moldova's capital - I get really disappointed that people tend to just write essays on Facebook instead of doing something more impactful.

If there's one thing I've noticed, it's that my Facebook feed makes me feel young and my YouTube/Instagram feeds make me feel old.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/metallicas-blizzcon-performance-ruined-by-twitch/1100-6487855/

Was probably an algorithm. There is nothing you can do.

If it had happened to any other band, I'd be pissed. That's just funny though.

Guess they wanted to experiment a bit and play their new avant-garde song "Master of Bells"!

Master of Bells, I’m ringing them off!

For whom the bell tolls, literally.

Now that Slater mentioned Twitch I have a question.
How does Twitch and its streamers don't get into copyright issues about the music they play? I watch a lot of streamers and none of them uses royalty free music. On the contrary most of them use tracks that could be easily result in a copystrike.

Well, they do get into trouble. For a long time Twitch managed to fly under the radar. Streamers did get hit by DMCA strikes once in a while, but they were rare. That changed in 2020. Record labels finally decided they didn't like the huuuuuge amount of copyrighted music streamed on the site and started sending out thousands of DMCA notifications each week, and in response streamers started to mass delete old vods and clips that might contain copyrighted material.

I watch a lot of Twitch as well, and most streamers I watch are super careful with music now because Twitch will ban your ass to protect themselves if you get too many strikes. Streamers that still want to play music either use DMCA-free playlists, use less mainstream stuff, or don't give a fuck and roll the dice.

On another note things are getting really funny in Greece right now.

About 3 months ago major sex offence and assault charges were put on a famous TV and theatre Greek actor George Kimoulis. Many of his colleagues - both men and women - went on to massive and explicit confessions about him.

That is what started a huge snowball effect and now 4 other famous actors are also prime suspects for many sexual assaults and even attempted rape, battery or bribing young actors to give them big roles in plays and series. The president of the Greek National School of Theatre Dimitris Lignadis resigned in order to express his discomfort and disgust about the whole situation. Turns out he is a suspect now and he is going to be judged by the court really soon.

What is even more aggravating is that the two of the suspects released a short video making fun of all of their victims saying stuff like "oh look at what a bunch of little women! They suddenly remembered some bad time when we tried to use our pick up lines on them and it hurt them! Poor souls!"

As a person who has worked as an actor from time to time I find it really depressing and it infuriates me to see so many talented actors and artists, who have left their mark on Greek theatre and TV to come out as literal turds...


Here is an article -> https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/prominent-greek-actor-director-arrested-charged-rape-76020210

That explains the whole Metallica- Blizzcon fiasco then...

This week I learned that having Vertigo sucks. The test they use to check for it is almost worse.

Take you up on a Boeing that's just been through maintenance, honest guv ?


Today I've discovered that the bargain bin at Season of Mist records is a bizarre pit of rap records, Leaves' Eyes singles, and stuff I paid full price for not long ago

Does anyone else have the problem, of their fingers being too calloused, for touch screens to read sometimes?

I think I ordered the wrong CD.

Like, I was looking to buy Ulver's "Bergtatt" album on Amazon for my friend, and the only one they had went for like $45, and I wasn't about to pay that. I saw another one that went for $20, and I bought it without second thought. A bit more research, and I found out the seller was selling one by an artist named "Oslo Kammarkor", which is a misspelling of "Oslo Kammerkor", and they so happened to have another album titled "Bergtatt".

I am praying to God that the seller was joking about the Oslo artist, because if it turns out the album I got was the wrong one...

Back in the days before I paid rent (and before I sold all my CDs to pay for other bills once I lost that job), I used to do hauls of 4-7 albums from The End every few weeks, and one time I ordered Cleptocracy by Kill the Client among several others. I wasn't really familiar with the album but I was just starting to explore grind and that album was popular at the time. Instead, when I opened the package, it had seemingly been replaced by Flotsam and Jetsam's No Place for Disgrace by accident, an album I had no interest in because Jason Newstead wasn't on it. Needless to say I wound up very pleased with the mix-up since NPFD absolutely fucking kills and in hindsight I can say it's roughly ten million times better than Kill the Client. Sometimes these mistakes wind up being awesome.

I guess you're right. Neither me nor my friend have listened to Oslo, nor cared for them. But even if it turns out to be the wrong CD all along, maybe their version of Bergtatt would be surprisingly good.

The album's on Youtube. I listened to a couple songs, and if you dig chamber choir, this is the album for you.

This happened to me with Overkill. I went to a record store to purchase the Years of Decay album. They didn't have it so I bought Horrorscope instead. Best decision of my life; it still remains my favorite Overkill album - and on my top 5 thrash metal albums of all time -.

I had a similar situation happen with a present. My best friend bought me Smash by The Offspring when we was like 14. I was into the really edgy black/death stuff at that time and I totally loathed my friend for buying me a "gay pop album". Today the gay pop album has been played on my stereo about 10000 times and I also have learnt it on guitar. My friend is still angry at me for my initial reaction.

New Nick Cave & Warren Ellis album was surprise released on streaming services today, and after one listen, I am hooked.

North Korea: Russian diplomats leave by hand-pushed trolley

That's gotta be the quirkiest Russian diplomat ever

Absolutely going to write to my MP and ask that the next time there's a spat with the Russians, we put them out through the channel tunnel like this too

I love how some of them felt t necessary to shrink-wrap their luggage, just to wheel it down the road.

That’s cool! Archaeologists at Pompeii discover an “intact” Roman chariot:
https://beta.cp24.com/lifestyle/2021/2/ ... 27185.html
Now listed on Carfax as having “considerable volcanic ash damage.”

Malmsteen on how Malmsteen was inspired by Van Halen - almost as many fucks as an EldritchSun rant, but funny becuase it's so obviously a stretch for him to admit to being inspired by anyone other than himself

https://www.loudersound.com/news/how-eddie-van-halen-taught-yngwie-malmsteen-not-to-give-a-fk

Did he call Van Halen a power trio?

He did, which is just the same as Malmsteen in 1978 at age 15 That man's ego is something, really is.

Yeah, I've seen people use it that way before. Basically, if the singer doesn't play an instrument, a lot of people will call it a power trio, even if there are four members, technically. The point is that there's only one guitar. So I guess the original usage (Hendrix, Cream, Budgie, Rush...) has expanded over the years.

Always amusing to see Yngwie rant. I remember when they played him a bunch of contemporary music in the mid-90s to get his reaction. It involved things like Death and Pearl Jam. You can guess how it went.